Archive By Section - Education

The Effingham County High School Air Force Junior ROTC has taken on a new mission this year: care packages for military members overseas.

It started early in the school year when a cadet mentioned the Adopt-A-Soldier program in Savannah to Maj. Danny Burgstiner, an instructor at the school, and it took off from there.

On initial contact the JROTC program was not only able to adopt four soldiers overseas, it turns out of them was one of their own, PFC Robert Purvis, a 2009 graduate of JROTC and ECHS. Purvis is currently serving in Afghanistan.

The Effingham County Board of Education will vote Wednesday on a new policy on restraint or seclusion, which will limit the use of physical restraint and require specialized training for faculty.

Passing the local policy has been mandated from the state Board of Education's July decision to ban seclusion rooms and restrict the use of physical restraint. The state BoE was prompted to act after a 13-year-old Gainesville student hanged himself in 2004. The student, who attended a school for those with emotional and behavioral problems, reportedly was left alone in a seclusion room in his last hours.

On Oct. 25, Marlow Elementary participated in a "Pink Out" to raise awareness for breast cancer. The staff members were encouraged to wear jeans along with pink shirts to signify their support for three staff members who have battled breast cancer, along with 39 others whose lives have been affected by the disease.

The Ebenezer Middle School cheerleaders won first place in the Coastal Division of the 12th Annual Sweet Onion Cheer Classic at Vidalia High School on Oct. 23. In addition to the first place win, the team won the grand champion title by scoring higher than any middle school team in the competition.

The Effingham County Board of Education will be dipping into its Tax Anticipation Notice to make ends meet through November after sluggish tax collections.

At the Oct. 21 school board meeting, Superintendent Randy Shearouse walked board members through recent developments in the budget that lead them to withdraw $3.5 million from the $5 million TAN loan approved in early January.

"There are some things you probably could've done maybe to avoid it," said Shearouse, "but you'd have to hold off on doing some things that we really need to do."

Twelve students from South Effingham High School and 12 students from Effingham County High School have earned the designation of AP Scholar by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program (AP) Exams. The exams were taken in May after completing the challenging college-level courses.

The following AP Scholars are seniors this year at SEHS: Andrew Faircloth, Robert McLaughlin and Austin Freeman (AP Scholar with Honor). The AP Scholars from SEHS who graduated last spring are: Alexis Fuhrman, Rachel Gadomski, William Hatcher, Amanda Hein, Audry Hyde, Sarah Mobley,

MACON-The following area students were recently inducted into the Mercer University chapter of Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society, a first-year student honor society.

Sophomore Rebecca Callaway, of Rincon. Callaway is a student in the university's College of Liberal Arts.

Sophomore Ashlie Rubrecht, of Springfield. Rubrecht is a student in the university's College of Liberal Arts.

Phi Eta Sigma invites students of good character who have maintained a grade point average of at least 3.5 during one of the first two semesters of their first year to join the organization. Inductees receive a pin in the ...

October is School Bus Safety Month and, in recognition of this, elementary school students participated in a bus safety poster contest. Those pictured were selected as local winners in their grade category and their posters will now advance to the state level competition.

Members of Effingham County High School's SkillsUSA chapter competed and took home several prizes and an overall fourth place ranking at the first SkillsUSA Champions Rally at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry. Close to 900 members and advisors from 50 schools across Georgia joined together in Reaves Arena for a day of motivation and competition.

Christina Hillman, a senior at ECHS, represented Effingham County as the SkillsUSA state president. The keynote speaker was Keith Brown, who did an exceptional job capturing the audience's attention and including many members of the audience in his presentation.

The annual PROBE College Fair will be held at Effingham County High School on Oct. 26 from 6-7:30 p.m. in the ECHS lunchroom. ECHS and South

Effingham High School juniors and seniors, along with their parents, are invited to attend and explore their many options for post-secondary education.

College representatives will be available to discuss specific admission requirements, scholarships, campus life, financial aid, housing, etc. Contact your high school counselor's office for more information.

SAVANNAH-Savannah Technical College will host two information sessions for those interested in becoming commercial truck drivers today at 2 and 6 p.m. in Room 148 at the Liberty Campus, 100 Technology Drive in Hinesville.

The session will include admission and financial aid information, entry testing and give prospective students an opportunity to have their questions answered in advance of class beginning Oct. 25. To begin the admission process, students need to bring a photo ID. There is a $20 application fee.

Faculty and staff at Springfield Elementary School hosted a jeans day in order to raise money for the Susan G. Komen breast cancer awareness fund. The school was able to raise over $500 to support the cause.